Miller reaches $7.25 million settlement with online college

Friday, May 16, 2014 3:17 PM

Ashford University and San Diego-based parent company Bridgepoint Education Inc. have agreed to a $7.25 million payment and are required to change certain recruitment and enrollment practices after Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller alleged the for-profit online school violated the state's Consumer Fraud Act, according to a release. The settlement caps a three-year investigation into complaints filed by current and former Ashford students that the online school's conduct resulted in students not completing their educational programs, not obtaining professional licenses, and being saddled with substantial student loan debt. Miller anticipates that approximately $7 million of the payment will help reimburse former and current Ashford online students from Iowa, and approximately $250,000 will go toward administering the reimbursement program. According to the Iowa Coordinating Council on Post-High School Education's Iowa College and University Enrollment Report for fall of 2013, 739 Iowans were enrolled online.